Surgical Assisting

Surgical technologists, also called operating room technicians, assist in surgical operations. They prepare operating rooms, arrange equipment, and help doctors during surgeries. Surgical technologists typically need a postsecondary certificate or an associate's degree. The average wage for surgical technologists was $44,330 in May 2015, and employment prospects are projected to increase by 15% yearly. Many community colleges and vocational schools, as well as some hospitals, have accredited programs in surgical technology. Surgical technologists are trained in the care and safety of patients, sterilization techniques, how to set up technical or robotic equipment, and preventing infections.

Certification through The National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting allows the use of the title Certified Surgical Technologist (CST). Certification through the National Center for Competency Testing allows the use of the title Tech in Surgery - Certified (NCCT). The National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting, the National Commission for the Certification of Surgical Assistants, and the American Board of Surgical Assistants offer certification for surgical assistants.

Surgical procedures are complex, requiring years of internship before a doctor
can properly be considered a surgeon, and operate on patients. While browsing the following
areas of surgery, note your interest in areas of practice, or sub-specialties. If you are
studying medicine or nursing, or thinking about entering the field, the videos are both
educational as well as important,
to introduce you to the interior of the body. However, if
you are under 18, please invite a parent or older sibling to watch with you, as surgery videos
are very explicit and can be disturbing to some viewers. Again, if are only browsing this page
to learn about surgery in general, please do not click on the surgery videos. If you are having
an operation soon, or are considering surgery, there are surgery animations you can learn from that are
much less graphic.

Cataract Surgery

A cataract is a clouding of the eye's lens that causes decreased vision. The lens of the eye focuses light rays onto the retina where an image is recorded. This allows us to see things clearly. The lens of the eye comprises mostly water and protein. The protein is arranged in a way that keeps the lens clear and lets light pass through it. A cataract develops when some of the protein clumps together and starts to cloud an area of the lens. A cataract won't spread from one eye to the other, although many people develop cataracts in both eyes. As the cataract matures and gets cloudier, it may become difficult to read and do other normal tasks. The exact cause of this clouding is not known. However, a number of factors are known to contribute to the formation of cataracts:

Aging, as proteins in the lens change.
Medical conditions such as diabetes
Certain eye infections.
Eye injury or burns of the eye.
Exposure to radiation.
Taking steroid medications for long periods.
Excessive exposure to bright sunlight.
Excessive alcohol use, or smoking.

Cataract surgery is usually done as an outpatient under local anesthesia, and most often takes less than one hour. Most cataract surgeries involve removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial one. There are two primary types of cataract removal surgery. The first is Small Incision Cataract Surgery, where a tiny probe is inserted into the eye. The probe emits ultrasound waves that break up the cloudy lens into small fragments. The tiny pieces are then removed by suction. This is the most common form of cataract removal surgery, and usually requires no stitches. The second type of cataract surgery is called is Extracapsular Surgery, where an incision is made in the eye, and the hard center of the lens is removed. The remainder of the lens is removed by suction. This surgery usually requires stitches, although the stitches may be able to stay in the eye permanently. In both types of surgery, local anesthesia is used so that there isn't any pain. In most cases, the removed lens is replaced by an intraocular lens, which is a clear artificial lens. It requires no special care, and remains permanently in the eye.

Open Heart Surgery

Minimally invasive bypass surgery offers an alternative to coronary artery bypass grafts, for patients who have only one or two blocked arteries. This operation uses a combination of small holes in the chest, and a small incision made directly over the coronary artery that needs to be bypassed. The result is more rapid healing of the chest incision with less pain and scarring. Heart valve replacement surgery also has become a common operation in hospitals. There are many reasons why a heart valve may not be working as well as it should. Valves that are seriously degenerated can be removed surgically and replaced with a new valve mechanism.

Coronary artery bypass surgery is used to reduce the symptoms of coronary artery disease and to prevent future heart attacks in patients who have major blockages in their coronary arteries. These blockages are the result of atherosclerosis, a condition which causes fatty deposits to build up in the arteries, slowing the flow of blood. Over time, as the coronary arteries continue to narrow, angina, pain or discomfort in the chest, or a heart attack can result. Coronary artery bypass surgery uses vein grafts taken from a patient's leg, arm or inside the chest to create a detour so blood can go around the blockages in the coronary artery and reach the heart.

Radiosurgery - Minimally Invasive Surgery

CyberKnife radiosurgery is a robotic surgery device that uses a linear accelerator mounted on a computer-controlled robotic arm to treat tumors throughout the body that are often unreachable by conventional surgery or other stereotactic methods. CyberKnife Radiosurgery is a painless, non-invasive radiation treatment that can be used as an alternative to open surgery in certain cases. The CyberKnife uses image-guided robotics to destroy tumors and other lesions with multiple beams of high-energy radiation. The cumulative effect of all the beams at the target results in the lesion receiving a very high dose of radiation while nearby normal tissue is preserved. Cyberknife radiosurgery is sufficiently precise to match the shape of small, complex tumors located
in critical structures. This precision allows the CyberKnife to treat lesions that otherwise would be considered inoperable.

The CyberKnife System, designed by Accuray, combines two advanced technologies to deliver a revoluntionary, frameless radiosurgery. The first innovation is a lightweight linear accelerator mounted on a multi-jointed robotic arm. This flexible robotic arm provides access to unreachable tumors and helps reduce harm to critical structures surrounding the lesion such as vital organs and tissues. The second innovation is an image guidance system. This can compensate for patient movement, and allow radiation to be delivered without using rigid immobilization, such as a head frame.

This website is not affiliated with any educational institution, and all trademarks are exclusive property of the respective owners. College Inspector is the work of a group of Thai students in Bangkok, using info from the US Department of Education, Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). If any stats are incorrect, please contact us with the right data.